Escaping Shadows (Warriors Fanfiction)
by MagiKKal
Summary: There aren't a whole lot of cats that have Synesthesia. Unfortunately, Watermelon, one of the few that do, gets exiled from Stormclan for claiming she tasted red in a fish. Excluded from the only life she's ever known, Watermelon feels stuck. A newfound friend, ominous happenings, a prophecy that no one remembers-they all add up to one thing. PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW!
1. Prologue

Fear.

That was what she felt.

Anger.

That was what she showed.

Isolation.

That was what laid before her.

Banishment?

For claiming that she tasted that unnaturally bright red in fish?

Watermelon didn't know what to do.

In tears, she looked from clanmate to clanmate. They were all there. They were her _friends._

A silver tabby was the one that stuck out the most. "Mama?" Watermelon looked at her mother, who was staring past her daughter, stone-faced. "Mama? Why-why don't you believe me? Please!"

The tabby shook her head. "You are no daughter of mine."

Watermelon took a step backwards in shock.

"Blisspaw? Kestrelfur? Birchwood?" There was a pause between each name.

Three cats shook their heads and said one word, in unison. "No."

The voices echoed around the hollow. Then another cat repeated the word, and another.

"No."

"From this day forward," said Hidingstar, "should Watermelon be found on Stormclan territory, each and every one of you has full permisson to kill her." He gave her a stony glare. "Leave."

Watermelon dropped on the spot, sobbing. "But-but... why?" she said between sobs. "_Why?_"

Rather than being answered, Watermelon felt a thobbing pain in her head. Hidingstar had struck her on the head, hard. She felt someone bite onto her back, hard, and cried out. Dodgeflight was dragging her out of the clearing. "NO! Please! _No!_"

Why would Hidingstar do this to her? And for what reason? It didn't make sense! She was just like any other cat. Nothing special. No special abilities. She didn't even have great hunting skills. So why?

Watermelon felt another blow to her head. She began to see black spots dotting in her vision. "Please! Stop! Please! What have I done to deserve this?!"

Hidingstar gave her another look, as if to say it was obvious. "You claim to have abilities that are impossible. You told a serious lie, and you must be punished for lying. In this clan, that price is banishment-or death."

"_WHAT?" _Watermelon half screamed, half shouted. "_How, in the name of Starclan, have I claimed I have SPECIAL ABILITIES!?"_

Watermelon recieved no answer. Rather, her mind went blank, her senses numb, and the rest of the world turned to a bitter black.


	2. Chapter One

**A/N: (11/7) Ermahgerd. Just watched Interstellar. Best. Movie. Ever. So totally sci-fi awesomeness. The dimesion thingy seemed quite correct to me. It helped me understand planetary relativity so much better.**

**(12/11) I'm sorry, but the chapters in this story are going to be very, very short. It's the way I originally wrote them and I don't feel like changing it.**

Something was poking at Watermelon's fur. It clearly didn't know that the cat it was poking was now at least partially awake.

Her eyes snapped open and she jerked violently in fear. She couldn't see the newcomer from her current position, so she wormed her paws out of their current useless position. Watermelon positioned them in a way that would enable her to stand even when weak and pulled herself up into a comfortable, natural position.

Of course, she fell right back down again.

_That idiot!_ Someone had severely injured her front left leg. It was broken, she knew for sure, as it hurt like hell. The leg was caked with dried blood, thorns, and mud. "Ow!" she cried out. Standing on it had caused to hurt even more, and falling had not made it better.

A deep voice, quite masculine, came from behind her. "Would you like some help? That leg looks very painful."

Watermelon nodded. "Yeah... I think some help would be nice." She sniffed the air. Yep, it was a tom.

The striped grey tabby eyed the tome as he came into view. He was a muscular blue point that had eyes strikingly similar to her own grey eyes. "I am Moonstorm."

"Watermelon."

He chuckled. "Well, the name certainly fits." She looked like a black and white watermelon.

"As does yours." She scanned him again. "How are you going to help me? Are you planning to support me and help me walk?"

Moonstorm thought for a second. "You'll have to shift your weight to any uninjured legs while leaning to the left, on me."

She shrugged. "Sounds as good a plan as any." Watermelon tried standing up again, but she put her weight on the back right more. "Eh."

Moonstorm joined her on her left side, instructing her to gently lean against him and put some weight on him. They eventually started walking, but progress was slow for the first ten or so minutes, until Watermelon finally got the hang of it.

At long last, after nearly an hour of walking, Moonstorm told Watermelon that he lived in cave that was just minutes away. They reached it in good time. Watermelon was happy to finally get some rest. But first, she had to ask something.

"Moonstorm, who are you?"

The pair locked eyes. Moonstorm answered after several seconds, "That is for you to discover on your own, in your own sense of time."

Watermelon did not argue or press on. Rather, she closed her eyes and slowly dozed off, thinking about what would become of her in this new, unfamiliar life.


	3. Chapter Two

Watermelon awoke the next day to the sound of pawsteps echoing around the cave. The she had not forgotten about Moonstorm or her banishment, but rather it was the contrary. She remembered the events of the past few days so vividly that they seemed to almost be happening again.

Moonstorm dropped a fish next to Watermelon. "Hungry?" Watermelon nodded. She stood up and stretched, then saw the meal Moonstorm had brought her.

Watermelon slowly backed away against the stone cave wall.

Moonstorm looked at her with a confused expression. "It's not an evil or rotten fish." He was perplexed at her sudden fearfulness.

Watermelon shook her head. "I was banished from Stormclan because I ate a salmon."

"What, did you eat the leader's salmon?"

"No. I tasted red."

"How do you taste a color?" Moonstorm looked beyond confused.

Watermelon sighed. "The same way you hear a color or feel one."

Moonstorm sat down and took a bit of the salmon. "I don't see red. It just tastes like salmon." He swallowed.

Watermelon gave Moonstorm a look of confusion. "Don't you taste little dots of red?"

Moonstorm shook his head. "What the heck are you talking about? There's no red."

"Is there something wrong with me?" Watermelon's gaze dropped to the ground.

Moonstorm didn't answer.


	4. Chapter Three

**A/N: I have no idea why I'm writing this the same day as chapter two. I feel like I owe you guys a longer chapter. This is in Moonstorm's point of view. I hope comfrey was the right herb...**

Moonstorm didn't mention the red fish incident again. He didn't want to cause any tension between his only friend, the only other cat banished from a clan for seeing colors in things.

Yep , Moonstorm saw them too.

However, Moonstorm _heard_ the colors. Echoing pawsteps were squiggly red lines, his voice was a dark blue bolt of lightning, a scuffling mouse was orange and pink polka dots.

Moonstorm had thought he was alone.

He had thoroughly considered telling Watermelon but instead decided to get to know her better before pressing the matter at paw, so to speak. He'd tested her to make sure she wasn't lying or making things up, and, well, she'd passed.

Moonstorm did not want to hurt Watermelon. She was a delicate soul and needed care; he could tell that just by the way she spoke. The blue point thought it his responsibility to provide her that care.

Later that evening, over a moon after they had met, Moonstorm was holding a comfrey leaf onto Watermelon's leg as he did in ten minute intervals three times a day. Her leg was healing fast, and the comfrey helped to increase the speed. Watermelon was watching intently. She then asked him a question. "Where did you learn all this stuff?"

Moonstorm gently placed the comfrey leaf on the ground. He sat down and scooted closer to the tabby. It was nearly dark out.

"I am going to tell you my life story, from the beginning, but just the basic outline. I am not going to keep any secrets or tell any lies. I want you to know."

"My life began with my Nightclan parents, Fallingbreeze and Sweetstar. As the leader's only son, I was expected to be the best, and I lived up to that expectation well. But I noticed colors everywhere. Nightclan is a pretty noisy clan at times." He took a deep breath, then continued on. "I told my mother about the colors I heard-"

"You hear colors?"

"Yes." There was a short pause before Moonstorm resumed. "I told Sweetstar, but she said it wasn't possible. I asked her why, and she just told me that it wasn't. I had just recieved my full name and finished my apprenticeship to the Nightclan medicine cat, Longtail. I insisted that she ask Starclan about it, and she listened. Sweetstar went to the Moonpool soon after, and next thing I knew I was exiled from Nightclan. No explanation, no detail, nothing pointing as to why I was banished."

Watermelon sighed. "What the heck is going on?"

"I have no clue, Watermelon, but I think we can be sure it doesn't happen during the lifetime of most cats." He stopped for a short pause, then said, "We should probably get some sleep now. It's getting late." Moonstorm laid down his head next to hers. He was getting very tired. Watermelon didn't object to the action. She just scooted herself closer and twined her tail with his. They closed their eyes and slowly fell asleep to a whispering outside wind, curled into each other.


	5. Chapter Four

The next morning, as soon as she was partially on her feet, Watermelon suggested that they visit the clan leaders of their clans and talk to Starclan. Moonstorm had politely objected.

"They'll kill us," he said. "Besides, we're considered rogues now!"

Watermelon's eyes fell to the ground. "Why can't we at least give it a try? It's worth a chance. Besides, what better do we have to do?"

Moonstorm was quiet for a moment. He was thinking. "You have a good point."

Watermelon curled her tail. "Can we go right now? Oh, and I just remembered... You're supposed to chew up the comfrey before you put it on my leg."

He frowned. "Are you really?"

"Yeah. I've been in a few battles in my time. Especially with Lightclan. They seem to love crossing the border, so there were a lot of skirmishes a few seasons ago."

"Aw, dang it. Comfrey was one of the herbs that I didn't quite need to know, so I only remember learning a little bit about it."

The conversation ended and they ventured off to speak to their former clans.

In time, the forest stretched out to a lighter area where the trees were less dense. Moonstorm easily caught a mouse and they shared it.

"We're coming close to Stormclan territory," Watermelon said. "I can smell their scent from here."

Moonstorm looked at her in disbelief. "That's Stormclan's scent?"

"Of course it is! What did you think it was, a rabbit?"

"They used to smell more like ferns. They smell a bit fruity now..."

Watermelon failed to contain her laugh.

They continued on with their walking, straight into the heart of Stormclan territory. Watermelon was being very cautious and on the lookout for other cats or patrols. There was no wind today, which was fortunate for them. Watermelon knew the outcome would not be good if they were detected.

Watermelon was about to tell Moonstorm how near they were to her old camp when she heard a shout. She shoved Moonstorm and dropped to the ground. Moonstorm in turn dove quickly (and quietly) into a nearby garlic patch. Someone must have caught their scent!

"Starclan," she whispered, "help us."

Watermelon began to slowly inch towards the garlic patch concealing Moonstorm. She heard a cat shouting orders for the patrol to return to camp and sighed with relief. They weren't going to follow the trail! Watermelon continued to stay extremely quiet and waited a few minutes before standing up again.

"We should really start moving a bit faster," Watermelon said. Moonstorm agreed and they began to walk quickly towards the Stormclan main camp.

With a smile plastered onto her face, Watermelon walked through the large space between two rocks alongside Moonstorm. "Hello, Stormclan!"

Every eye in the camp turned towards her and stopped. Moonstorm crouched low, ready to spring on anyone who dared to attack Watermelon.

The silence that swept across the camp had not gone unnoticed. Hidingstar had emerged from his den, followed by Willowfur and Addertail.

"What do you think you're doing here?" growled a pissed off Hidingstar.

Watermelon smiled brightly. "Oh, that's simple. Moonstorm and I are here to talk to you. In front of the entire clan. No privacy necessary!"

That was when the first cat pounced.

* * *

><p>Moonstorm unsheathed his claws and jumped, knocking the ginger tom off course. The two cats hit the ground and stopped. Moonstorm backed away from a now unconscious Coppertail and whipped around, batting away the paws that had been launched at Watermelon.<p>

Watermelon was staring at Moonstorm, wide-eyed. "I thought you told me you were trained as a medicine cat."

"I was, but I taught myself how to fight. Life outside of the Clans can be very dangerous." Moonstorm ducked a swipe at his head from an apprentice named Whitepaw and hit her in the stomach with his head. She collapsed, unable to breathe, giving Moonstorm time to step away. His next words were directed towards Stormclan. "Neither of them are seriously hurt. The white she is just winded and the ginger tom is unconsious." Watermelon noticed that his claws were now sheathed. "I did my best not to draw blood, but whoever happens to be the medicine cat can give them both a quick look if they please."

Hidingstar was now glaring, furious. "How dare-"

"Excuse me, Hidingstar, but who's the one who came here to talk? Actually, the two." Watermelon was pleased that she could now interrupt the Stormclan leader without getting punished. Yes, she knew how rude she was being, but she and Moonstorm had come there for a reason.

Hidingstar was speechless.

Fernlock, a senior Warrior, said, "Hidingstar, Dodgeflight, would you mind if I handled this?"

Hidingstar approved with a small nod.

"Thank you, Fernlock," said Watermelon."

Fernlock nodded and gave Watermelon a quick wink. "Now, what were you going to say?"

Watermelon took a deep breath. "Moonstorm–"

There were several gasps and at once several cats started meowing.

"Excuse me! I am speaking!" The chatter of her former clanmates vanished promptly. "Thank you! Now, as I was saying, Moonstorm and I have come to the conclusion that something strange is going on." She paused for a few seconds. "We were both banished from our clans for associating colors with other senses–"

"What the in the name of Starclan does that mean?" someone shouted. Watermelon couldn't pick out who said it.

"It means that I taste and feel colors, and Moonstorm hears them!"

Several cats jumped, backed away, and generally started freaking out. And, of course, the chattering started up again.

"Shut it!" Moonstorm shouted.

Watermelon nodded in appreciation. "We both have no idea _why_ seeing colors is a reason for banishment. Fernlock, please don't take offense, but you can't help me right now. I'm fairly sure only Hidingstar and Starclan will be able to answer this." Fernlock nodded and stepped clear.

Watermelon then turned her head up to the large rock pile overlooking the camp. "Hidingstar! Do you have an answer to this question? Do you have anything to do with this? Does _Starclan_?"

This was met by a series of gasps, a look of pure shock on Hidingstar's face, a shriek from the medicine cat (Dreamlift), and Dodgeflight fainting.

"Oh, so Starclan _does_ have something to do with this! I see! A prophecy, am I right?" Dreamlift and Hidingstar both nodded. "Well, then, I think we're done here. We still have to talk to Sweetstar." Watermelon turned towards the exit.

"The Gathering!" Hidingstar shouted.

Watermelon turned back around. "What?"

"The Gathering is tonight!" Hidingstar was jumping down the rock pile that laid below his den.

"Okay," Watermelon said. "I guess we'll stick around. Oh, and, by the way, you broke my leg. It's still healing."

Hidingstar shook his head. "That wasn't me. That was Lineheart."

_My mother_, thought Watermelon.

_My oldest friend_, thought Moonstorm.

It indeed is a very small world.


	6. Chapter Five

**A/N: (2/18/15) For all the 106 reads I currrently have on this story, I have only recieved two reviews.**

**That being said, I have something else to point out. Watermelon's name is not a rogue name. Her name's prefix is Water-. However, I decided to make Hidingstar a very creative leader who liked to give his Warriors interesting names.**

**In addition, I realized that the C in Clans is always capitalized. Rather than Stormclan, it's supposed to be StormClan. (I reread Fading Echoes.)**

**Last but not least, I'm just going to put the disclaimer in here because I feel like it. I've never really felt the need to include the disclaimer, as no one on this website really owns anything. It's FanFiction. Seriously.**

**HarperCollins/the Erin Hunters own Warriors. They own Skyclan and Starclan. I do not. I only own the sequence of events that happen, and, well, the made-up clans. And you know. That sort of thing. Well, my OCs too.**

**Yeah, you get the idea.**

**[HINT HINT: I'm not very good at disclaimers.]**

* * *

><p>The hours passed quickly. Sunhigh came and went, Watermelon met Amberlily's moon-old kits, Moonstorm lead an outstanding hunt with Watermelon, and the Gathering's chosen attendees all settled down for a group nap. However, Watermelon had a relevant dream, unlike most others. Moonstorm's and Dreamlift's were also relevant, but not so much as Watermelon's.<p>

Watermelon was sitting in dim, dank forest that that gave off an aura of evil. Surrounding her were inky black figures, stalking around in the shadows. One of the figures seemed to form into a being. A cat.

The cat became more clear. It had a brown tabby pelt and glaring amber eyes. "You must be one of the Skyclan pact," it hissed. Watermelon was finally able to make out the scent of a male cat.

Watermelon wisely chose not to answer. She knew this cat was not to be trusted. The tabby continued on. "So you do not know of what they call the Great Battle. It was where your homeland is; where you and the rest of the pact originated from. Where a rogue group, turned tribe, turned clan, returned to after countless moons. Where three cats reside, without the abilities they've known their whole lives." Watermelon still did not answer. "This is a warning. Tigerstar is coming. But not from the Dark Forest. Oh, I left that place long ago. No, only the most deadly and dangerous reach the level I am at. Hell is coming. You'd better be ready."

At that second, the dream switched over to a lighter setting. Watermelon collasped, violently shaking. She felt as if she had really been there.

"I know it seems impossible, young one, but you need not fear them at the moment." Watermelon looked up to see a blue furred cat.

"Who are you?" she whispered. "And what the Moonpool was that?"

"Only the darkest of the Dark Forest reach that place. It is quite literally named Hell. My name is Bluestar. I am one of the few who was warned against them, and with enough time they can be stopped. The cats of Hell have already begun to sleep-train your warriors. The ones who pose no threat to them. The ones who seemed most likely to turned towards evil. And most definitely the strongest. They will go after Moonstorm, after the way he fought today."

Watermelon was still shaking. "Bluestar, what are we going to do?"

"Tell Moonstorm to train with them and privately update us when Hell is asleep. Those cats are tricky. Even more difficult than the Dark Forest. Tell Hidingstar that the banishment laid on you was not approved by Starclan and that he must accept you back into the clan." Watermelon gave a quick nod. She had finally stopped shaking. "You may also tell him only to bring a very small group of warriors to the Gathering. Blisspaw can't go, and neither can Addertail."

Watermelon looked up as if to ask why, but Bluestar stopped her. "You have to trust me on this. The fate of the Skyclan pact is in your hands. And there is another cat named Star. She will be of great help. Star is a loner at the moment, but she will show herself soon."

With that, Watermelon watched Bluestar and the light filled forest fade away and opened her eyes once again to find herself in the land of the living.

* * *

><p>Moonstorm was running through a dream-created field, one that resembled the fields of Nightclan. He was chasing a rabbit, just for the fun of it, when something stopped him. A cat was sitting right in his path, a few body-lengths away.<p>

"Hello, Moonstorm," said the cat. It was a male brown tabby. "I am Tigerstar."

"Why are you speaking to me in a dream?" Moonstorm asked. "You're clearly not from Starclan, as they have a very specific way of contacting warriors. So why are you here?"

"Ah, clever," said Tigerstar. "I am here to offer you further training."

"I think I could do without your training. I've taught myself everything I know about fighting and don't need to learn more. Practice, yes, but learn more? It's not worth my time."

Tigerstar gave him a look. Moonstorm could tell he was furious but wanted something from the former medicine cat. "What else do you want? Are there any other things you forgot to mention?"

Tigerstar chuckled. "No. I only wish to help you become a better Warrior. Why pass up a chance to be great?"

Moonstorm did not speak what he was thinking. He knew there was no way out of this but to go with it. "Well, when you put it that way..."

"You accept?"

Moonstorm nodded. "Why not? If I can become a better Warrior, show my mother that I am good enough to be in her clan again, then why would I decline? Why would _anyone?_"

"Good. We will meet in dreams several times, whenever you sleep." Again, Moonstorm nodded. "Meet me here tonight."

"Erm, how exactly do I get _here?_"

"You'll come here when you fall asleep again. Now, be off! It is time for you to wake."

Moonstorm then opened his eyes, then found a set belonging to Watermelon right in front of his. They'd fallen asleep facing each other.

Dreamlift had dreamt of something else, something important, but the time to learn what she dreamt of has not yet come. I will not spoil it to you, as I am merely the narrating figure, but it will be revealed soon. For now, though, let us be contented with Moonstorm's dream.


	7. Chapter Six

Watermelon opened up her eyes an stared forward to see a pair of grey eyes belonging to Moonstorm staring right back at her.

"Hi," she said.

"Hi," he said back.

"Morning," she said.

"Evening," he replied.

Watermelon did a mental eye roll. "Whatever." She paused momentarily, then continued. "I'm tired."

"I'm tired too."

Watermelon said, "I had a strange dream."

Moonstorm said, "I had a strange dream too."

"Tell you about it later?" Watermelon asked.

"Tell you about mine later too," he replied.

"I need to talk to Hidingstar."

"I need to talk to whomever might be your medicine cat."

This time Watermelon did a real eye roll. "Her name is Dreamlift. You should help her and Scarpaw sort out the herbs while you're talking to them. Their den is in that cave, over there." Watermelon flicked her tail towards a cave that was a bit out if the way, then stood up and stretched. "Later." Moonstorm smiled and watched her walk over toward the cave lying abouve a large rock pile.

As Watermelon looked at the rocked sitting beneath the Stormclan Leader's den, memories of her kithood flooded back to her, the way water cuts through a carven river or stream. Her mother, curling up around her only remaining kit in a cozy, warm nest. Jumping around the camp like a rabbit, out-hopping all the other kits and apprentices. And Pinekit...

No. She would not think about that right now. Watermelon refused to let herself cry about that anymore. She was on a mission to accomplish one thing (split into several parts) and needed to concetrate on what she was doing, rather than lingering over a tear-filled and hurtful past.

Watermelon took a deep, deep breath, and started her climb up the rocks.

She reached the top in no time, as her leg was almost completely healed and she was very fast in most of her movements. Watermelon scratched at the rock as she had been taught and said, "May I come in?" She waited a few seconds for the answer of a slightly muffled yes, then walked through the stone passage and out into the cave that made up Hidingstar's den.


End file.
